k1 Marriage in US after arrival - how soon?

[jm302music 25]

Greetings, all!  I tried finding an answer to my question here before asking, but couldn't find an answer yet.

 

My fiancee (K1 visa) and I are trying to decide our timing for moving her and her son here to the USA.  I'll spare you the three-page essay here about the long and winding (and distressing) path that we've walked for the past four years, praying for the day that we finally get to be together as a family. 

 

Very long story short, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel (we're ready to do the medical . . . . again), and our timing now really boils down to this question - how soon can we reasonably expect to be able to get married after she arrives in the USA if we do the quickest method (civil court ceremony, I guess?)?  And is there anything I can do in advance to shorten that time-frame?  I'm sure there are complications that I'm not aware of yet!

 

For example, suppose they arrive here on December 15th. Would that give us enough time to take the necessary steps to be married and have a marriage certificate dated by December 31st?  That 12/31 date is extremely critical, of course, due to tax impact.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to offer!

 

Joel
 

[payxibka 10,044]

3 minutes ago, jm302music said:

Greetings, all!  I tried finding an answer to my question here before asking, but couldn't find an answer yet.

 

My fiancee (K1 visa) and I are trying to decide our timing for moving her and her son here to the USA.  I'll spare you the three-page essay here about the long and winding (and distressing) path that we've walked for the past four years, praying for the day that we finally get to be together as a family. 

 

Very long story short, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel (we're ready to do the medical . . . . again), and our timing now really boils down to this question - how soon can we reasonably expect to be able to get married after she arrives in the USA if we do the quickest method (civil court ceremony, I guess?)?  And is there anything I can do in advance to shorten that time-frame?  I'm sure there are complications that I'm not aware of yet!

 

For example, suppose they arrive here on December 15th. Would that give us enough time to take the necessary steps to be married and have a marriage certificate dated by December 31st?  That 12/31 date is extremely critical, of course, due to tax impact.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to offer!

 

Joel
 

As soon as you can get a marriage license.   It is the marriage ceremony date that is key, not the date you might get the certificate 

 

As an aside,  there is always Vegas and all you need is about 4 hours 

Edited September 5, 2019 by payxibka

[Hank_ 9,173]

5 minutes ago, jm302music said:

Greetings, all!  I tried finding an answer to my question here before asking, but couldn't find an answer yet.

 

My fiancee (K1 visa) and I are trying to decide our timing for moving her and her son here to the USA.  I'll spare you the three-page essay here about the long and winding (and distressing) path that we've walked for the past four years, praying for the day that we finally get to be together as a family. 

 

Very long story short, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel (we're ready to do the medical . . . . again), and our timing now really boils down to this question - how soon can we reasonably expect to be able to get married after she arrives in the USA if we do the quickest method (civil court ceremony, I guess?)?  And is there anything I can do in advance to shorten that time-frame?  I'm sure there are complications that I'm not aware of yet!

 

For example, suppose they arrive here on December 15th. Would that give us enough time to take the necessary steps to be married and have a marriage certificate dated by December 31st?  That 12/31 date is extremely critical, of course, due to tax impact.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to offer!

 

Joel
 

For the most part "when" is up to you two and the state.     In Arizona we could have probably gotten married a couple days after we arrived.    But jet lag said, let's sleep ...

 

Enough time is really a state issue, how quick will they issue the license.   Getting married before the end of the year should be a goal for sure.     

Edited September 5, 2019 by Hank_

[Crazy Cat 39,218]

5 minutes ago, jm302music said:

Greetings, all!  I tried finding an answer to my question here before asking, but couldn't find an answer yet.

 

My fiancee (K1 visa) and I are trying to decide our timing for moving her and her son here to the USA.  I'll spare you the three-page essay here about the long and winding (and distressing) path that we've walked for the past four years, praying for the day that we finally get to be together as a family. 

 

Very long story short, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel (we're ready to do the medical . . . . again), and our timing now really boils down to this question - how soon can we reasonably expect to be able to get married after she arrives in the USA if we do the quickest method (civil court ceremony, I guess?)?  And is there anything I can do in advance to shorten that time-frame?  I'm sure there are complications that I'm not aware of yet!

 

For example, suppose they arrive here on December 15th. Would that give us enough time to take the necessary steps to be married and have a marriage certificate dated by December 31st?  That 12/31 date is extremely critical, of course, due to tax impact.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to offer!

 

Joel
 

@Loren Y can marry you immediately upon arrival in Las Vegas........and he says you will have the certificate in a few hours.......

[Allaboutwaiting 2,500]

You could marry on the very same day she arrives. Find a courthouse that allows walk ins; you'd be able to get the marriage license and the ceremony performed in a few hours or less. 

 

As mentioned before, the marriage certificate is not important for tax purposes, as long as you are married before December 31st.

 

 

[payxibka 10,044]

Don't forget to get the SSN, makes filing MFJ so much easier 

[Falcon Cara 377]

Las Vegas , The Clark County Courthouse is open 8am till Midnight, Every day they do not close for holidays.

 

No appointment necessary

[Loren Y 2,731]

3 hours ago, Falcon Cara said:

Las Vegas , The Clark County Courthouse is open 8am till Midnight, Every day they do not close for holidays.

 

No appointment necessary

The license bureau is open 8am to midnight in order to get your license. the courthouse does walk-ins during the week Mon-Thu just about anytime other than the hour they close for lunch so usually 9-5pm, but I think the last one is done at about 4:30pm. On the weekends is is appointment only usually, but they have been known to take a walk-in if not busy, and occasionally I have seen walk-in hours posted for the weekend, but you can check the whole schedule or make your appointment all online. I also strongly recommend you apply for your license online before you arrive ( Up to a Year before) then all the information is in the computer and you get to bypass the line and go straight to the window where they scan your barcode and verify your documents, and you are off to the races. When I pick people up at the airport I have a laptop in the back seat and have them fill out the license application on the way to the wedding license bureau, and from the airport to downtown gives you just about the right amount of time to get it filled out and submitted . But, the weekends are pretty busy. Just to give you some numbers, there are over 7000 marriage licenses issued per month here in Clark county. the average is 200-250 a day. A slow day is only 170 or so, they have issued on a Busy Friday for the weekend over 550 marriage license in one day. Then, their last busy day was 9/9/19 for the people wanting the number thing for their wedding date. The clerks office told me one Monday they had over 1100 licenses turned in, and they had to stay in the office to after midnight to make sure they were all recorded. There is a reason Las Vegas is the marriage capital of the world, and I had no idea until I saw the numbers at the officiant training class. Weddings are big business here in Las Vegas, we are talking hundreds of millions of dollars, and they just spent 1.1 million on wedding promotions thru the visitors authority to step up the numbers of weddings. Their best year was 2004 with over 120,000 marriages, and as a note a little over 80 percent of licenses are issued to tourists or international travelers, not to Nevada residents.

 

But, as @missileman stated, I can get you from license to certificate in hand pretty easily during the week in under 4 hours. weekends the clerks office is closed, but I can record first thing Monday morning.

[jm302music 25]

On 9/5/2019 at 1:59 PM, payxibka said:

As soon as you can get a marriage license.   It is the marriage ceremony date that is key, not the date you might get the certificate 

 

As an aside,  there is always Vegas and all you need is about 4 hours 

 

On 9/5/2019 at 2:00 PM, Hank_ said:

For the most part "when" is up to you two and the state.     In Arizona we could have probably gotten married a couple days after we arrived.    But jet lag said, let's sleep ...

 

Enough time is really a state issue, how quick will they issue the license.   Getting married before the end of the year should be a goal for sure.     

 

On 9/5/2019 at 2:02 PM, missileman said:

@Loren Y can marry you immediately upon arrival in Las Vegas........and he says you will have the certificate in a few hours.......

 

On 9/5/2019 at 2:05 PM, Allaboutwaiting said:

You could marry on the very same day she arrives. Find a courthouse that allows walk ins; you'd be able to get the marriage license and the ceremony performed in a few hours or less. 

 

As mentioned before, the marriage certificate is not important for tax purposes, as long as you are married before December 31st.

 

 

 

On 9/5/2019 at 2:15 PM, payxibka said:

Don't forget to get the SSN, makes filing MFJ so much easier 

 

On 9/5/2019 at 3:20 PM, Falcon Cara said:

Las Vegas , The Clark County Courthouse is open 8am till Midnight, Every day they do not close for holidays.

 

No appointment necessary

 

On 9/5/2019 at 6:58 PM, Loren Y said:

The license bureau is open 8am to midnight in order to get your license. the courthouse does walk-ins during the week Mon-Thu just about anytime other than the hour they close for lunch so usually 9-5pm, but I think the last one is done at about 4:30pm. On the weekends is is appointment only usually, but they have been known to take a walk-in if not busy, and occasionally I have seen walk-in hours posted for the weekend, but you can check the whole schedule or make your appointment all online. I also strongly recommend you apply for your license online before you arrive ( Up to a Year before) then all the information is in the computer and you get to bypass the line and go straight to the window where they scan your barcode and verify your documents, and you are off to the races. When I pick people up at the airport I have a laptop in the back seat and have them fill out the license application on the way to the wedding license bureau, and from the airport to downtown gives you just about the right amount of time to get it filled out and submitted . But, the weekends are pretty busy. Just to give you some numbers, there are over 7000 marriage licenses issued per month here in Clark county. the average is 200-250 a day. A slow day is only 170 or so, they have issued on a Busy Friday for the weekend over 550 marriage license in one day. Then, their last busy day was 9/9/19 for the people wanting the number thing for their wedding date. The clerks office told me one Monday they had over 1100 licenses turned in, and they had to stay in the office to after midnight to make sure they were all recorded. There is a reason Las Vegas is the marriage capital of the world, and I had no idea until I saw the numbers at the officiant training class. Weddings are big business here in Las Vegas, we are talking hundreds of millions of dollars, and they just spent 1.1 million on wedding promotions thru the visitors authority to step up the numbers of weddings. Their best year was 2004 with over 120,000 marriages, and as a note a little over 80 percent of licenses are issued to tourists or international travelers, not to Nevada residents.

 

But, as @missileman stated, I can get you from license to certificate in hand pretty easily during the week in under 4 hours. weekends the clerks office is closed, but I can record first thing Monday morning.

 

Thank you all so much for your help and for taking time to answer my question!  I feel a lot better about this step now, knowing that at least there's one part of this process that can happen quickly! 

 

Joel